Are you feeling bored or in a rut?

The chances are that if you're feeling bored or in a rut it could be because you haven't learned anything new lately. If we get stuck in a rut where we feel like we're part of the movie "Groundhog Day" it usually means it's time for us to start engaging the brain again.

Amazing things start happening when we are learning, whether it's a new skill or acquiring new knowledge. Without realizing it, we are changing our mind-set. Sometimes we can almost feel our brain expanding. According to Dr Ipsit Vahia, director of geriatric outpatient services for Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital, you need to exercise your brain with new challenges to keep it healthy. And you're never too old to learn new skills. “New brain cell growth can happen even late into adulthood,” says Dr. Vahia. “The process of learning and acquiring new information and experiences, like through structured classes, can stimulate that process.”

You're never too old to learn new skills

This is good news for those who say they'll never be able to remember new information as they get older. In fact, my experience is that when you choose to learn a new skill or gain new knowledge, you're far more likely to retain this information because you've chosen something you're really interested in. This probably explains why I never retained any of the knowledge I gained at school!

Gaining new knowledge, whether in a structured environment or not, gives you a wonderful feeling of growth. And it has many other advantages:

it creates a sense of excitementit gives you confidence and raises your self-esteemyou are able to talk with knowledge and authority on a new topicit can be fun - and when you're having fun it's a lot easier to learn a new skillit gives you the opportunity to meet people who have the same interests as youit opens up new opportunities

Once you start learning new skills, you start a chain reaction. It becomes a habit so that you start to relish any opportunity to learn something new, whether it's picture framing, learning a new language, photography, learning online marketing or learning to dance.

There is something so satisfying about gaining new knowledge and it most definitely gets you out of your rut.